Strange Things Occur At Midnight
by Midnight Chimes
Summary: When Rose and the Doctor accidentally travel to 1879 they're shocked to find that there's more to this adventure than a werewolf hell bent on biting the Queen. Very Slow Burn.
1. Chapter 1: Tooth and Claw Part 1

Queen Victoria and her travelling companion sat in a comfortable silence as they travelled by carriage to Sir Rober'ts Torchwood Manor. The Queen in particular was exceptionally excited to be arriving at the house that her late husband spoke so fondly of; however her companion seemed distant as if in deep thought.

The Queen's companion was an odd woman she looked young yet her hazel eyes were impossibly old and told a story of sorrow and despair. However this day the Queen noticed that she seemed by both happy and filled with dread when the Queen had invited her to accompany her on her annual trip.

The Queen's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the carriage stopping and sound of a man's voice, a traveller on the road; she knew that Captain Reynolds would be able to reason with the man swiftly so that they could continue on their way. However, her companion tensed at the man's voice and she finally spoke.

"Ma'am, if you do not mind, I wish to speak with the man whom is on the road as I suspect that he may be your protector that the Lord Provost has appointed." She explained calmly to her dear friend letting her tense muscles calm as she regained control over her body.

"What need do I have for him? I already have one protector, I do not need another." The Queen responded confused as to her companion's peculiar claim, she had not mentioned this matter before.

"Ma'am, I alone cannot protect you especially on this journey. This man is a dear friend of mine and I would trust him with my life; as you know that is a trust hard earned." The auburn haired woman explained to the elder Queen just as calmly as before and the Queen gave in to her friend's persuasive patience with a nod she granted her Ranger permission to greet this man.

Ranger opened the carriage door, gathering her dress's skirts and stepping out onto the cold Scottish soil. She swiftly made her way towards the Captain and her old friend as he was introducing himself.

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon. From the... Township of Balamory. Eh... I have my credentials, if I may..." The Doctor explained, in a Scottish accent, gesturing toward his jacket to presumably retrieve his psychic paper to fool the Captain.

"That won't be necessary Doctor; we have been expecting you and your companion, if you would care to follow me." Her voice rang out as she travelled towards the Doctor to show him that he was among friends. The moment the Doctor saw, the woman talking he was stunned into silence, standing before him was the one woman in the universe he never expected to see again; she gestured for him and his companion to follow her behind the Captain and towards the carriage. Rose looked completely and utterly confused as to what was going on between the two and she couldn't think of how the Doctor knew this mysterious woman.

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am." Captain Reynolds warned the Ranger still suspicious of the pair of travellers however the Ranger quickly dismissed his suspicions.

"Fear not Captain, I have known this man for many years; if he were a threat to the crown then I would not be allowing them to approach the carriage." She reasoned calmly however she never took her eyes off of the Doctor and neither did he off of her.

"Follow me, if you would please," The Ranger ordered breaking her gaze with the Doctor; leading him and Rose toward the carriage where the Queen sat waiting almost anxiously to meet this man whom her companion trusted so. One of the footmen opened the carriage door for the trio as the Doctor and Rose obediently followed the Ranger to the door as she came to a halt at the carriage and the other two stopped surprised by the occupant of the carriage, "I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

"Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies...for being so naked." Rose spoke up moving past her confusion of the brunette woman the Doctor kept glancing over to. She even managed to conjure up a laugh, albeit a nervous one but a laugh all the same.

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me." The Queen spoke gently accompanied by a smile; then she moved her attention to the man by Rose's side she was puzzled by the look on his face of sheer shock upon either seeing her or her companion.

"As I told you earlier, your Majesty, Doctor McCrimmon has been appointed by the Lord Provost as your Protector." Ranger addressed the Queen however subtly informed the Doctor of his current position and breaking him out of his current daze.

"Yes! Good! Good! Um… then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?" The Doctor questioned confused, he had resigned to only glancing at Ranger every now and then to check that she was still there and not a figment of his imagination.

"A tree on the line." The Queen answered simply to the peculiar Doctor.

"An accident?" He asked, although unconvinced by his own suggestion.

"I am the Queen. Everything around me tends to be planned." The Queen announced with the slightest tinge of fear lacing her words.

"An assassination attempt?" The Doctor asked glancing over to the Ranger for a brief moment to see her giving him a small nod to confirm.

"What, seriously? There's people out to kill ya?" Rose queried not believing that someone would want to kill the Queen.

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun." The Queen answered grimly glancing over to her Ranger to see her giving the Queen a reassuring and sympathetic smile.

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We have already sent word ahead, so we will stay at the Torchwood Estate tonight; and then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow, your Majesty." The Ranger proposed her plan to the Queen, also wishing to distract her Majesty from the prior discussion knowing that she would rather not dwell on such affairs.

"Very well and this Doctor and his...timorous beastie will come with us." She announced causing the Doctor and Rose to smile at this in amusement; however the Doctor still kept an eye on the Ranger.

"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall." The Captain agreed anxious for the Queen to be safe.

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think… Ranger, do you wish to continue the journey in the carriage?" The Queen asked unsure if the Ranger wanted to talk with this Doctor and his companion now or later.

"I will ma'am," She answered climbing into the carriage however before closing the door she called out, "Doctor, once we arrive at Sir Robert's I wish to speak with you privately, if you do not mind."

"No, not at all." The Doctor answered quickly not wanting to let her slip through his fingers. The Ranger smiled and closed the carriage door signalling for the driver to carry on. The Doctor and Rose proceeded to walk behind the carriage on foot.

"So, who is she?" Rose asked the Doctor genuinely curious about this 'Ranger'.

"Who?" The Doctor asked acting oblivious.

"That woman, Ranger? And what kind of a name is Ranger? She it's almost as bad as 'the Doctor'." Rose clarified joking towards the end not noticing the Doctor's reluctance to talking about the woman in question.

"She's a Time Lord, well, Time Lady; and an old friend." The Doctor explained briefly, which shocked Rose causing to slow her pace.

"I thought you said that the Time Lords died?" She questioned confused by the Doctor's answer.

"That's what I thought but it seems that she survived, of course Midnight would; I can't get rid of her, bad penny." The Doctor answered smiling to himself glad that his friend had survived the slaughter.

"Midnight? The Queen called her Ranger. Wait, is she the friend that you told me about before?" Rose spoke up again even more confused.

"Yes, and Midnight's her nickname. Anyway, we just met Queen Victoria!" The Doctor changed the subject away from the Time Lady as he needed more time to process her being back in his life.

"I know!" Rose exclaimed excitedly, making a mental note to ask more about the Doctor's relationship with this 'Midnight Ranger'.

"What a laugh!"

"She was just sitting there!"

"Like a stamp."

"I want her to say," Rose started before putting on a stereotypical British accent, "We are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time." The Doctor proclaimed as if he was above such a childish bet.

"Ten quid?"

"Done." The Doctor agreed. His mind began to wander off thinking about all the deals and bets he had made with Midnight, wondering if she'd still join in. After all, who knew what she was like now; she had regenerated at least once since they last saw each other.

When they finally arrived at the Torchwood Estate the footman opened the door for the carriage's occupants to exit. Ranger exited first then proceeded to assist Queen Victoria out of the carriage. The Doctor and Rose stood off to the side watching the exchange, until a man, who they presumed to be Sir Robert, approached the carriage.

"Your Majesty." Sir Robert greeted the Queen, bowing as he did so. However, the Ranger was more interested in his servants as they were all bald, used to extraneous exercise and most certainly did not look like servants.

"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency." The Queen sincerely apologised, "And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She's... indisposed, I'm afraid - she's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her - the kitchens are barely stocked... I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." Sir Robert explained nervously, as though he wished for her Majesty to continue on her journey. She glanced over to the Doctor and gave him a questioning look to see if he had spotted Sir Robert's unusual behaviour but he simply frowned and looked confused.

"Oh, not at all! I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is... charming. If rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate," The Queen announced cheerfully and filled with excitement, "Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked girl."

"Sorry." Rose sheepishly apologised to Sir Robert, slightly embarrassed by the attention towards her dress sense.

"She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so..." The Doctor explained staying in character as to avoid suspicion; however, Ranger suspected he was just joking around by this point.

' _Typical'_ she thought.

"Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused." Rose stated. It seemed to Midnight that the Doctor had chosen a companion that was similar to his self, if that was good or bad she didn't know, "What do you think, Ma'am?"

"It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?" The Queen responded confused by Rose's comment, Ranger had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the blonde's childishness. Sir Robert then nodded and began to show the group into the house; however Ranger hung back a bit to ensure that the property was taken care of. Incidentally, the Doctor stayed behind.

"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the Property. Hurry up." Captain Reynolds ordered two soldiers who made their way towards the carriage to take out a small wooden box; they then carefully carried it into the house.

"What's in there, then?" The Doctor asked Ranger quietly.

"Sorry, can't tell you that. All I can say it that it's property of the Crown." Midnight answered cryptically; she always had a habit of being cryptic and vague.

The Doctor, Rose and the Ranger all followed the Queen and Sir Robert into the house and upstairs into the observatory where Sir Robert's father's greatest invention lay.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour." Queen Victoria asked Sir Robert gesturing towards the large telescope set up by the window. The Doctor, Rose and Ranger all looked at the telescope admiringly at its sheer size and smiled like giddy children at Christmas.

"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession - he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself." Sir Robert explained.

"I wish I'd met him, I like him. That thing's beautiful - can I um...?" The Doctor asked smiling, gesturing to the telescope.

"Help yourself." Sir Robert stated, the Doctor, Ranger and Rose all moved forwards to examine the telescope; Rose went to go towards the wheel next to the telescope admiring it and trying to figure out its purpose, the Doctor admired the telescopes craftsman's ship whilst the Ranger's eyebrows furrowed as she peered into the telescope noticing the over excessive use of prisms; far too many for a telescope.

"What did he model it on?" The Doctor asked intrigued as to what possessed Sir Robert's father to create such a marvel. Ranger gave the Doctor a look signalling for him to look through the telescope himself.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little... shall we say, eccentric," Sir Robert admitted sheepishly causing the Doctor to laugh. Sir Robert then glanced at the Queen with regret in his voice, "I wish now I'd spent more time with him. And listened to his stories."

"It's a bit rubbish." The Doctor stated bluntly frowning, oblivious to his attitude and Ranger simply rolled her eyes as Rose turned to Sir Robert grinning hoping that the Doctor would catch on to his rudeness, "How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's stupid kind of a," Finally the Doctor caught on to what he was saying then he muttered quietly to his friend and companion, "am I being rude again?"

"Yep."

"When are you not?"

"But it's pretty! It's very... pretty." The Doctor responded quickly, trying to redeem himself and attempting to ignore Midnight's comment.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded." The Queen praised.

"Mm! Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?" Rose wondered, causing the Queen to stare at her, "You could easily... not be amused, or something...? No?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God." The Queen stated simply, very much confused by Rose's actions. The Doctor shook his head at Rose's antics with a small smile on his face whilst the Ranger sighed lightly, "What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more." The Doctor announced before he wandered back to the telescope to continue his examination.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg." The Queen explained, more so to Rose than anyone.

"That's Bavaria." The Doctor explained to Rose, causing Midnight to smile as he really hadn't changed since she last saw him, well not that much personality wise at least.

 _"_ When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported." The Queen told Sir Robert.

"So, what's this wolf, then?" The Doctor questioned intrigued as was Midnight. She'd had dealings with beings that take over a host body and can transform into werewolves; lupine wavelength Haemovariforms, if she remembered correctly, however most of the ones she met were scared and just wanted to go home, perhaps this one was the same.

"It's just a story." Sir Robert brushed it off attempting to convince the others in the room it wasn't worth hearing, or that he was scared of the tale.

"Then tell it." The Doctor urged noticing Sir Robert's reluctance. Sir Robert glanced at the butler nervously before opening his mouth.

"It's said that-"

 **"** Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark." The butler announced ominously, clearly not wanting the story to be told.

"Of course. Yes, of course." Sir Robert agreed; this put the Ranger on edge, something definitely wasn't right here, hell, she'd been warned as such.

"And then supper. And... could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness." The Queen suggested.

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose asked pointedly, Queen Victoria ignored the comment.

"Sir Robert, your wife must've left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven. And talk some more of this wolf. After all... there is a full moon tonight." The Queen finished off with a smile.

"So there is, Ma'am." Sir Robert agreed nervously. He bowed, then the Queen and her party departed; Rose being led by the butler to Lady Isobel's chambers and Midnight guided the Doctor to an empty drawing room to have a quiet chat.

Once the two of them were inside the room and the door was shut the Doctor immediately enveloped Midnight in a hug and she returned it laughing as she did so. Midnight was the first to speak, "Doctor! Get off! I've got a reputation to up hold."

"You've never cared about reputations!" The Doctor exclaimed picking her up and twirling her around before setting her on the ground again, both still laughing.

"It's good to see you again." She stated happily smiling up at her friend, her arms still resting on the Doctor's shoulders, "Do you know how long I've had to wait until a version of you that hadn't met me yet came along?"

"Sorry." He apologised looking into those bright hazel eyes that he missed so much before his smile faded, at least somethings didn't change. He then asked the question that had been on his mind, "How did you survive?"

"That's a tale for another day, but right now we need to figure out what's going on in this house. Have you noticed how all the servants are bald and very athletic?" The Ranger inquired with a thought full expression.

"And here was me thinking that you weren't interested in humans," The Doctor pondered cheekily before Midnight gave him a playful whack on the arm so that he would concentrate, "Yeah, and Sir Robert looks scared to death of them."

"It's got to have something with this 'mythical' wolf… Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Midnight asked with a playful expression on her face accompanied with a smirk.

"I'm thinking that we need to do some snooping." The Doctor announced; Midnight hummed in agreement.

"I'll get to the kitchens you get the study, meet in the dining room for supper, we'll grab Rose then all three of us will search the rest of the house after." The Ranger formulated the plan and the Doctor nodded in agreement before the pair rushed off to their respective rooms.

 _God did he miss her._

The Ranger checked that all of the servants had left the kitchens before she started rummaging around. She didn't need to look around for long as she was suddenly hit with the distinctive smell of mistletoe and there were remains of it everywhere. Why there was mistletoe she had no idea, however she suspected it had something to do with controlling the wolf as they're allergic to the viscotoxins in it. Although she would need more data to confirm that hypothesis.

Just as Midnight was about to pick up a piece of the mistletoe one of the bald 'servants' came into the room and she quickly dropped her hand, "My apologises, I seemed to have gotten lost when wandering about the house. I came here in search of someone to direct me to the dining room however no one was here." She explained calmly.

"Follow, me my lady." The servant ordered and the Ranger complied, the man took her to the dining room where the others were. She sat down beside her Majesty and across from the Doctor.

"Your companion begs an apology, Doctor. Her clothing has somewhat delayed her." The butler explained to the Doctor. Midnight didn't trust him whatsoever and dread wormed its way into her stomach.

"Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham." The Doctor responded cheerfully smiling, knowing what Rose is like. When he looked over to the Ranger he became a little worried but she gave him a reassuring smile.

"The feral child could probably eat it raw." The Queen joked causing Midnight and the Doctor to smile and Captain Reynolds to laugh, quite loudly, who was sitting beside the Queen also.

"Very wise, Ma'am! Very witty!" He exclaimed joyfully.

"Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited... I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury." Victoria sternly told him.

"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am." The Captain apologised meekly, embarrassed by his lack of manners.

"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert! Come, Sir! You promised us a tale of nightmares." The Doctor eagerly urged Sir Robert.

"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction." The Queen explained enthusiastically.

"You must miss him." The Doctor stated sadly, earning a sorrowful gaze from her Majesty.

"Very much." She confirmed looking sadly at the Doctor lost in her memories causing the Ranger to speak up to comfort her friend.

"But is that not a part of the charm of a ghost story, ma'am?" The Ranger asked rhetorically, with a sad yet comforting smile for the Queen, who returned it in agreement.

"Yes, indeed. It is not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the... hope of some contact with the great beyond," The Queen explained to the rest of the group, the Doctor continued to gaze at the Queen knowing too well what she meant. However, his gaze shifted to Midnight reminding him that he wasn't alone anymore, "We all want some message from that place... it's the Creator's greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent. And we must wait." The Queen then shook herself out of that saddening trance as did the Doctor and the Ranger out of thinking about their own lost people, "Come! Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters!"

"The story goes back three hundred years," Sir Robert began "Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and... devoured."

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that." Captain Reynolds explained easily, not thinking for one second it may be real; the Queen looked slightly annoyed at his interruption.

"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation. A boy will vanish from his homestead." Sir Robert explained almost desperate for the company to believe his story, this set off alarm bells in the Ranger's head.

"Are there descriptions of the creature?" The Doctor asked Sir Robert intrigued not noticing Sir Robert's desperation nor Midnight's alarm.

"Oh yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal." Sir Robert revealed ominously.

"A werewolf?" The Doctor asked rhetorically, leaning forward incredibly interested.

"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast - to have learned its purpose." Sir Robert continued. The butler's attention seemed to have been diverted by something at the window and he began chanting 'lupus deus est', "I should've listened," Sir Robert stated regretfully and the Ranger started to put everything together, "His work was hindered - he made enemies. There's a Monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly." The Queen suggested not noticing what the butler, or rather monk, was chanting at the window.

"That's what I thought. But now I wonder... what if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet?" Sir Robert continued with his warning.

"What if they turned away from God and began to worship the wolf?" The Ranger questioned fully understanding after her mind quickly translated what the butler was chanting: 'The wolf is God'. The Doctor seemed to catch on to what she was saying as he stared at the monk by the window.

"And what if they were with us right now?" The Doctor also questioned as the monk continued to stay by the window chanting just as everyone else seemed to get the message.

"What is the meaning of this?" Queen Victoria demanded.

"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!" Captain Reynolds ordered Sir Robert pointing a gun at the monk and Sir Robert.

"What's happening—" The Queen began.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife." Sir Robert explained desperately.

"Rose! Where's Rose? Where is she?!" The Doctor shouted at the monk but he was ignored so he turned to the Ranger and Sir Robert, "Midnight, Sir Robert - come on!"

"You go after Rose, Doctor, I need to stay behind." Midnight reasoned standing closer to her Majesty and clutching at the skirts of her dress. Captain Reynolds' gun still pointed directly at the monk. The Doctor and Sir Roberts both rushed out of the room to find Rose.

"Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!" Captain Reynolds shouted enraged at the monk but he was ignored.

"Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est. Lu-"

"What is it that you want?" Reynolds continued to shout, at this the monk stopped chanting and he turned to the Captain completely unafraid of the gun pointed directly at him.

"The throne." He answered simply before suddenly wrenching Captain Reynolds' gun aside and knocking the Captain out. At this the Queen's eyes widen and the Ranger stood in between the Queen and the monk staring the latter down, an even tighter grip on her skirts.

"I take it that it was you and your brethren that halted the train to Aberdeen?" Midnight asked for confirmation.

"We have waited so long for one of her journeys to coincide with the moon." The monk explained, rather foolishly in the Ranger's opinion; never tell the opposition the plan before you carry it out. Monologuing had been many people's downfall especially when they were against the Ranger, and the Doctor for that matter.

"Sorry, to say but you have waited in vain. I will make sure that this wolf never gets the throne to the British Empire." Midnight declared steadying her breathing and staring at the monk defiantly.

 _"_ Oh, I don't think so, woman." He responded with a small smile. The Ranger's jaw locked. She pulled up her skirts, grabbed her gun and shot the monk dead with incredible speed.

No hesitation. No mercy.

* * *

 **Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that first part. I'm fairly new to uploading my works so any supportive feedback would be appreciated as well as any thoughts on the characters. With the Ranger I've got her personality sorted out, I think, but I would love to hear any ideas you have about her etc. Although, I will warn you updates will be messy as I'm about to go into exam season and I tend to lose inspiration quickly; however, I will try my best. The next update should be in a week or so.**

 **Thanks for reading ~ Midnight.**


	2. Chapter 2: Tooth and Claw Part 2

The Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert all ran into the hallway, the Doctor slammed the door behind them and locked it with his sonic screwdriver, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"Sir Robert! What's happening?" The Queen asked rushing down the stairs with the Ranger close behind her, "We heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?" Sir Roberts questioned the Queen however she hesitated.

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him, whilst I escorted her Majesty to safety." The Ranger explained calmly.

 _"_ The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty - you'll have to leg it out of a window." The Doctor explained gesturing to another door.

"I'm afraid that won't work Doctor, the monks have undoubtedly surrounded the Estate, we can't escape. We need to go to a secure room and wait it out till morning." Midnight explained, the group grounding to a halt.

"Do they know who I am?" The Queen asked, beginning to get agitated.

"Yeah, that's why they want ya. The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting." Rose tried to carefully explain to the royal, albeit not successfully.

"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf." The Queen ordered. Midnight could tell that the Queen was having trouble believing that there was a wolf. Victoria felt out of her depth and a lack of control; which something her Majesty had felt too much during her lifetime.

The wolf's howl rang throughout the entire house as it begun to break down the door, "Where do we go?" Rose asked desperately.

"I have an idea of where to go, however I'm not certain that it is secure your Majesty." Midnight proposed, the Queen nodded desperately and the Ranger began to lead them swiftly up the stairs.

"Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigourous jog." The Doctor suggested, jogging on the spot, "Good for the health. Come on!" The Doctor grabbed the Queen's hand and they all rushed after Midnight up to the top floor of the house, "Come on! Come on!"

"This way!" The Ranger shouted urging them to move faster. The group rushed around a corner that Captain Reynolds was guarding and he shot the beast before returning back to cover. Everyone took a moment to gain back what little breath they could.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake!" Reynolds ordered the group and yet no one moved, "Your Majesty - I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe." The Queen stated causing the Captain to smile.

"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Ranger, Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protectors. And you, Sir Robert - you're a traitor to the crown." The Captain declared, before cocking his gun getting ready to shoot at the wolf.

"Bullets can't stop it!" The Doctor declared.

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!" The Captain ordered yet again. This time everyone followed his order to run but Midnight hung back for a moment.

"Thank you, Captain Reynolds." She thanked him before running off with the others and directing them through a large pair of double doors. Reynolds stood at the end of the corridor gun held up ready to shoot. When the Ranger got to the entrance of the library Rose was standing there fixated on the Captain, however Midnight managed to push her into the library before the blonde girl had to witness his slaughter.

They then quickly barricaded the double doors with furniture and other wooden items. The Ranger then proceeded to barricade a curtain which she theorised had a door behind it, if she was right about Sir Robert's father.

 _"_ Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute..." The Doctor whispered; he was confused as to why the wolf hadn't tried to break down the door. The wolf howled breaking the well-kept silence in the room before the Doctor spoke again, "It's stopped." He then pressed his ear on the double door, _"_ It's gone."

"Listen..." Rose whispered whilst footsteps could be heard circling the room. The Doctor returned to the group in the centre of the library. The humans looked absolutely terrified; however, the Time Lords seemed to be unaffected.

"Is this the only door?" The Doctor whispered cautiously waiting for the wolf's next move, Sir Robert opened his mouth to answer.

"I barricaded it earlier." Midnight interrupted.

"Shh!" Rose whispered, they could hear the wolf's footsteps pad away from the room, "I don't understand. What's stopping it?"

"Something inside this room." The Doctor stated before turning to Midnight, curious, "How did you know it would be safe in here?"

"Sir Robert's father was a clever man and if he had found a way of keeping the wolf at bay then this is the first place he would've fortified. Knowledge was his greatest advantage against the wolf." Midnight reasoned, "I suspect the wolf can't get in because there is mistletoe somewhere in this room, they are allergic to the viscotoxins in it. The brethren probably have mistletoe to keep the wolf from attacking them; I saw some in the kitchen before supper."

Sir Robert sat down on one of the chairs barricading the door and he put his head in his hands, ashamed, "I'll tell you what, though..." Rose began shakily looking over at the Doctor.

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"Werewolf...!" Rose breathed out, attempting to lighten the mood but it only worked for the time travellers. Midnight winced at their disregard of lives lost.

"I know!" The Doctor exclaimed enthusiastically, oblivious to the Queen glaring disbelievingly at them. Rose laughed as the pair embraced, "You all right?"

"I'm okay, yeah!" Rose exclaimed still smiling at the Doctor.

"Midnight?" The Doctor called out turning to the unusually quiet brunette.

"Marvellous." The Ranger stated coldly at the her friend's behaviour.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's my fault. I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I... thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?" Sir Robert apologised.

"There is no point in blaming yourself, Sir Robert. What is done is done. But right now we need to either wait till morning or find a way to defeat the wolf before then." Midnight proposed, the Doctor hummed in agreement.

"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now." Rose joked; that was the last straw for her Majesty.

"Do you think this is funny?" Queen Victoria rhetorically asked the girl.

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry." Rose apologised meekly, considering that she may have crossed the line.

"What, exactly, I pray someone please - what exactly is that creature?"

 _"_ You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength Haemovariform." The Doctor explained quickly and pedantically, scratching his head.

"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?" The Queen bombarded him, the Doctor finally realising.

"Oh... right, sorry."

"I'll not have it. No, sir - not you... not that thing... none of it. This is not my world." The Queen stated effectively shutting the Doctor up.

"Ma'am, I know that you are scared and angry, I understand. However, if we are going to find a way of defeating this beast then we are going to need the Doctor's assistance; if you are not willing to trust him then at least trust my judgement." The Ranger reasoned with Victoria. Her Majesty looked at her trusted companion and protector and simply bowed her head in agreement after a moment for two of hesitation. The Doctor walked forward towards the door to touch a carving of mistletoe

"Mistletoe... Sir Robert, did your father put that there?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know, I suppose..." Sir Robert responded unsure as to why it mattered.

"On the other door, too... a carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..." The Doctor muttered thinking out loud before leaning forward and licking the door as Midnight smirked at his ever odd behaviour, _"_ Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe - it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him!"

"Knowing where the viscotoxins are doesn't give us any clue as to how to defeat the wolf, Doctor." Midnight stated confused as to where the Doctor was going with this.

"You said it yourself, Midnight. You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." The Doctor explained putting his glasses on, "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." The Doctor then proceeded to pull books off of the shelf throwing some to Rose; the Ranger gathering books as well, "Arm yourself."

Within seconds all of them, excluding her Majesty, were frantically scouring the library's books for any insight into how to defeat the wolf.

"Biology, zoology... there might be something on wolves in here..."

"Hold on, what about this?"

"...some form of explosive..."

"Maybe. Hello..." Midnight muttered in response before she placed down on a book on the table, "Look at what your father found, Sir Robert, something that fell to Earth." On the page was an illustration of something falling from the sky; the others soon gathered around, the Doctor stood right behind Midnight.

"A spaceship?" Rose asked unsure.

"A shooting star," Sir Robert corrected not understanding what Rose meant, "'In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit.' That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the Monastery."

"Over three hundred years ago. But, what could it have been waiting for?" The Ranger wondered and her brows furrowed.

"Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans. Host after host after host." The Doctor theorised looking down at Midnight who nodded in response staring back at him, smiling slightly.

 _She'd missed this._

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert questioned.

"That's what it wants. It said so, the... the 'Empire of the Wolf'." Rose stated repeating what the wolf had told her earlier.

"Imagine it..." The Doctor began explaining, "the Victorian Age accelerated... starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..."

"Lady Ranger!" The Queen finally sharply spoke, Midnight walked over to her slowly, "If I am to die here..."

"I won't let that happen, ma'am." The Ranger retorted sharply, determined to not let the wolf get anywhere near the Queen.

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself." She explained, opening her bag to retrieve an object.

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables." The Doctor commented, still looking at the book on the table; he needed Midnight with him not messing about with some piece of jewellery.

"Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this." The Queen stated coldly to the Doctor, pulling out a large diamond from her bag and held it in her palm presenting it to Midnight.

"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose asked in amazement walking towards the Queen, the Doctor's attention was also caught by the large stunning jewel.

"Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world." The Doctor confirmed moving closer to the Queen to have a better look at the diamond.

"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die." Her Majesty explained to the group sorrowfully, her gaze shifting to the Ranger to see the brunette give her a small, sympathetic smile.

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I...?" The Doctor retorted a bit rudely.

The Doctor held out his hand for the diamond, but the Queen handed the diamond to Midnight instead. The Ranger walked over to Rose and the Doctor holding up the diamond so that the three could examine it properly. The Doctor pushed on his glasses to see the diamond although, the Ranger suspected that he put them on to show off, "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked curiously gazing into the diamond with wonder.

"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week." The Doctor pondered. He glanced at Midnight, a look of wonder in her eyes.

"Good job my Mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing." Rose joked peering at the diamond, studying how the light reflected off of it.

"And she'd win." The Doctor murmured, earning a laugh from Rose. Again he looked at Midnight but this time her brows were furrowed as she stared at the diamond intensely; the shape of the diamond was peculiar and incredibly exact…

"Where is the wolf?" Sir Robert asked walking away from the four, "I don't trust this silence."

"Why do you travel with it?" The Doctor questioned intrigued to hear the answer.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting." The Queen gladly explained also gazing at the majesty of the stone.

"Oh, but it's perfect."

"My late husband never thought so." Queen Victoria stated sorrowful look crossing her eyes, as the Doctor removed his glasses.

"Now, there's a fact - Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting." He mused, Midnight processed this information; then she suddenly remembered where she'd this design before. The Ranger gave the Queen the Koh-I-Noor back, having finished with the examination.

"Prince Albert always said that the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished." She stated distantly.

"Unfinished... oh, yes!" The Doctor exclaimed suddenly, "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research - your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond - hold on, hold on –" He ruffled his hair, Midnight beamed at his reaction, "all these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head!"

"And the shape of the diamond is specifically designed to weaponise lupine waves when magnified by a light chamber." The Ranger explained matching his speed of speech.

"Midnight, you are brilliant!" He exclaimed and he quickly kissed her forehead, "What if - this house, it's a trap for you - is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourselves, Doctor, Ranger." The Queen demanded, luckily for the Doctor, Midnight decided to explain.

"What if Sir Robert's father and your husband were not just sharing stories and folktales, ma'am? What if they dared to imagine all that everything they learned was true? And what if they planned against it; laying the real trap not for you, your Majesty...but for the wolf." The Ranger explained, slower this time.

Unfortunately, at that moment a few flakes fell from the ceiling causing the group to look up at the wolf on top of the skylight.

"That wolf there…" The Doctor murmured moving closer to Midnight as the glass dome started to crack under the wolf's weight. The Doctor reached out for Midnight's hand and they all ran to the double doors, "Out! Out! Out!"

They hurried to disassemble the barricade as the wolf crashed through the skylight and into the room just as they had finished clearing a path; they ran out into the corridor the Doctor closing the doors behind them before again grabbing Midnight's hand as they ran down the corridor.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" The Doctor ordered. The five of them skidded around a corner, the wolf right on their tail; however Rose, spun around to see how close the wolf was to find that it was right behind her and she stopped out of fear and screamed. Luckily, Lady Isobel threw a pan of something which caused the wolf to back off, "Good shot!"

"It was mistletoe!" Lady Isobel briefly explained as the Doctor and the Ranger followed the wolf to see where it had gone to.

"Isobel!" Sir Robert exclaimed in relief pulling his wife in for a kiss, "Get back downstairs."

"Keep yourself safe." Lady Isobel desperately demanded her husband, but he only kissed her yet again.

"You go."

"Girls, come with me. Down the back stairs, back to the kitchen. Quickly!" Lady Isobel ordered obeying her husband's wish.

"Come on!" The Doctor shouted as he and Midnight returned back to the others and he grabbed his friend's hand yet again running to the observatory.

"Observatory's this way!" The Ranger directed, thanking her impeccable memory. They ran up yet another flight of stairs, attempting to out run the now recovered wolf as they entered the observatory.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside!" The Doctor noted more to himself than anyone else, "Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?!"

"Just do your work and I'll defend it." Sir Robert told the Doctor.

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something!" The Doctor yelled ignoring Sir Robert's suicidal attitude.

"I said I'd find you time, sir." Sir Robert urged the Doctor, "Now get inside."

"Good man." The Doctor stated after staring at him for a moment.

"Sir Robert." The Ranger called out catching the man's attention. She pulled out her gun and handed it to him, "That will buy you some time."

"Thank you, my Lady." Sir Robert responded before he closed the doors. The Doctor and Rose ran over to the wheel by the telescope and began to turn it, however as they turned the Doctor glared at Midnight.

"Your Majesty, I require the diamond." She demanded sternly, determined.

"For what purpose?" The Queen asked confused.

"The purpose that it was designed for. What Albert designed it for." Midnight stated calmly. The Queen handed her the diamond and she ran over to the Doctor and Rose but not before she told the Queen, "Also, your Majesty I suggest that you go into the corner of the room over there so that you are out of harm's way."

"Lift it! Come on!" The Doctor urged Rose as the wheel became jammed. Midnight walked over to the Doctor, reached inside his jacket for the sonic and she unjammed the wheel so it could move again. The Doctor took back his sonic shoving it back in his pocket, "Can't you use your own?!"

"No, because mine broke a couple of centuries back." She yelled back beginning to get a bit impatient with the Doctor and his looming judgement just because she had a weapon.

"How old are you?" Rose asked curiously wondering if all Time Lords were as old as the Doctor was.

"Not the time! Pull!" The Doctor ordered her rudely. Midnight glanced away whilst pulling to see that the Queen was far from the door.

 _"_ Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose asked sarcastically, not liking being on the butt end of the Doctor's attitude.

"Yes!" The Time Lords chorused sounding exasperated. After a minute or two the shots from Midnight's gun and the screams of Sir Robert could be heard as the three kept turning the wheel and the Queen murmured a prayer tightly holding onto her cross.

"You said this thing doesn't work!" Rose yelled confused as to what the plan was.

"Correction, the Doctor said that it doesn't work as a telescope! But that's not what it is, it's a light chamber! It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. All we have to do is power it up!" Midnight explained, however Rose was still confused.

"But there's no electricity!"

"We don't need electricity. We need moonlight." The Doctor explained to his human companion, gritting his teeth.

"Moonlight! It's made by moonlight!" Rose retorted.

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on!" The Doctor explained. The light chamber began to align with the Moon, the Ranger let the other two continue as she walked over to where the light would emerge ready for the next stage, "Come on!"

Finally, the light chamber aligned with the Moon and the two travellers stepped away from the wheel as the moonlight was directed through the chamber, just as the wolf broke through the doors. Midnight quickly placed the diamond in the ray of light so that the diamond weaponised it and hit the wolf lifting it off of the floor and forcing it to regain human form.

"Make it brighter. Let me go." The wolf's host spoke quietly, however Midnight just stood there. The Doctor slowly moved over to where Midnight was and increased the brightness. He held her hand as they all watched the wolf howl as both wolf and host disappeared and the light turned off having completed its purpose. The Queen came out from her hiding spot, she and Rose both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"I will be." She responded with an empty smile as she led go of his hand.

The day after the terror, the brethren had already scattered and the soldiers woke up. Her Majesty had alerted the authorities to arrest the brethren on sight for treason; she had also decided that for the Doctor and Rose's bravery that she would knight them, much to the Ranger's surprise.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS." She announced touching the Doctor on each shoulder with a sword before moving to stand in front of Rose to repeat the process, "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. You may stand." The Doctor and Rose both rise with wide smiles.

"Many thanks, Ma'am." The Doctor thanked her Majesty, looking over to Midnight in excitement as she returned his child-like smile.

"Thanks! They're never going to believe this back home." Rose exclaimed.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave." The Doctor told the Queen with a sympathetic smile.

"Indeed." The Queen agreed before turning on a more serious note, "Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused."

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed as the Doctor groaned..

"Not remotely amused." The Queen continued. At this Rose realised what the Queen was saying and attempted to wipe the smirk off of her face, "And henceforth... I banish you."

"I'm sorry..?" The Doctor asked he and Rose both looked stunned by what the Queen had said. The Ranger on the other hand was not surprised.

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor." The Queen stated before continuing, "And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars - and magic - and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death and I will not allow it! You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life. Now leave my world. And never return."

"Your Majesty, may I say something?" The Ranger asked the Queen.

"Of course." She replied her anger seemingly dissipating; the Doctor wondering what Midnight was planning.

"If you would allow me to, your Majesty. I wish to accompany Sir Doctor and Dame Rose in the hopes of changing their ways so that they might find their way back to the path of good." The Ranger finished her proposal. Queen Victoria wasn't all that surprised, she knew the Ranger trusted the Doctor and as far as she knew the Ranger didn't trust anyone with anything, let alone with her life.

The Doctor smiled softly at Midnight, glad that she wanted to travel with him again.

 _He really had missed her._

After Queen Victoria had agreed to let the Ranger go with the Doctor the three had left the house; unfortunately, the Queen had only let Midnight take a horse so the Doctor and Rose had to hitch hike their way back to the TARDIS. The two of them hopped off of the farmer's cart and the Ranger off of her horse as they arrived that their destination.

"Cheers, Dougal!" The Doctor yelled to the kind man.

"Keep the horse as payment." Midnight told the farmer as she handed him the reigns with a smile and the farmer thanked her. She returned back to the Doctor and Rose as the three began to walk to the TARDIS.

"What would've happened if the Queen had gotten bit?" Rose mused looking at the Time Lords as they walked.

"Who knows but…a single wolf cell could take... a hundred years to mature... might've been ready by… oooh… early 21st century...?" The Doctor theorised.

"Good job, you told her to stay back Ranger." Rose stated relieved, that they had managed to avoid that catastrophe.

"Actually, I shouldn't have. We may have accidentally changed history a teensy weensy bit." Midnight spoke up losing her proper accent she had used in front of the Queen for a more Northern one, "In history Queen Victoria was diagnosed after this point in time as a haemophiliac; it was called the Royal Disease, her kids had it too. Well, they did but not anymore, my bad…"

"Well, at least it wasn't a fixed point. Then we'd really be in trouble." The Doctor announced cheerfully, if anything they had improved the future. The Doctor took out his TARDIS key and three entered the TARDIS and just as Rose had closed the door behind them Midnight exclaimed.

"Oh! You've redecorated!... I don't like it."


	3. Chapter 3: Change of Clothes and Company

The Doctor jumped up to the TARDIS console, Rose by his side as Midnight walked up the stairs to join them, "So then, where do you want to go, Midnight?" The Doctor asked her grinning eager to go to another planet with his old friend.

"Firsts things first, I'm gonna go to the wardrobe and pick out an outfit for this incarnation, I haven't had the time to change yet." The Ranger announced walking towards the wardrobe but she paused before she went, "Oh, Rose, if you don't mind, I'm going to need your help to get out of this God forsaken corset."

"Not at all." Rose replied surprised.

"Why can't I help?" He whined playfully.

"You bloody know why!" She shouted back at him having already left the room, leaving the Doctor smiling to himself.

"What happened between you two?" Rose asked curiously after they were well out of the Doctor's earshot.

"It's a long story, but let's just say that the Doctor's a bloody nuisance, especially when you want to get _out_ of a corset." Midnight avoided Rose's question, which left Rose to her imagination and she couldn't help but feel a little jealous, "Anyway, here we are." She announced opening the doors to the wardrobe, "Blimey, he's got more clothes than last time."

"Yeah, I keep on telling him that he needs to take some out." Rose told the brunette woman earning a smile from her as they walked up to the main level of the wardrobe and they stopped in front of a TARDIS blue divider.

"Can you untie my corset here? And don't worry I'm not going to be naked in front of you I've got an undergarment on as well." Midnight joked as Rose began to untie it, "Bloody hate corsets, pesky things. All they do is cause you pain and make it so that you can't run as fast as you'd like."

"Tell me about it. When the Doctor took me to 1869 he made me wear one, and that corset killed me." Rose told her, the two women ending up laughing, "There you go."

"Thanks," The Ranger told her before going behind the divider to take off the rest of her clothes so that she was only in her under dress, "Unfortunately, women wearing trousers didn't become socially acceptable on Earth till the 1920's." She explained emerging from behind the divider to begin browsing the different clothes the TARDIS had.

"Yeah, how long were you stuck on Earth?" Rose asked determined to learn as much as she could about the Time Lady.

"Ooh, um, about 214 years give or take." She answered nonchalantly continuing to browse through.

"And I though 19 years was bad," Rose joked, "So, are you older than the Doctor?"

"Dunno, how old is he now?" The Ranger asked slightly ashamed at herself that she didn't know his age.

"900, he told me last but he could be a bit older; I don't know his birthday." Rose answered unsure.

"Then, yes by about 335 years, but I've always been older than him anyway; in Earth terms, his birth day in late November although I can't never remember the exact date." Midnight paused picking up floral blouse turning around to Rose, "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure…" Rose muttered, the woman in question looked at herself in the mirror agreeing with Rose as she threw the blouse away.

"Ah, those look more like it!" Midnight yelled running over to the other side of the room to pick up a white elbow length button up shirt and black fitted trousers. She ran over to a set of drawers to pick up 21st century style underwear and socks then ran back behind the divider to quickly change into them.

Rose giggled at the Time Lady's childish actions as they reminded her of the Doctor; the two were similar and yet so different. Midnight appeared from behind the divider and gave Rose a twirl along with a smile.

"Bit plain, but it suits ya." Rose agreed smiling, at the Time Lady.

"Yes it is, well, we're not done yet I need shoes! Can't go running about without them." Midnight announced bouncing over to the boots section, wrinkling her nose at a few of them.

"The Doctor said that you two are friends." Rose stated a bit awkwardly; ever since Midnight had gotten the Doctor's sonic screwdriver she had been wondering if they were _just_ friends.

"'Friends' pshh, we're a bit more than that." Midnight exclaimed in a disbelieving tone and Rose's heart dropped, "We're best friends for Christ's sake. We've known each other for…ooh… 946ish years for me, 700 for him; time travel can be a pesky thing when trying to figure stuff out."

"Wow. Do you ever get fed up of him?" Rose asked subtly or at least trying too.

"Too many times to count. But, why do you want to—" The Ranger began to ask but stopped halfway through, "Ohhhh, you love him don't you?" At this Rose looked down bashfully, Midnight smirked at her leaning on the nearby railing looking at Rose.

"Yeah…" Rose admitted with a small smile and Midnight grinned widely, "But, don't tell him. Not yet."

"My lips are sealed." She promised before picking up a pair of black running shoes with some small parts of them TARDIS blue; that she slipped on, "Oooh, nice. Comfy, good support for the ankles and decent soles; I think we have a winner!"

"They look good, not sure about them with the shirt though." Rose complimented as the Ranger ran back down to her testing out her new shoes.

"Nah, it'll be fine." She responded lightly with a smile.

"You're as bad as the Doctor with his converse and suits." Rose commented.

"When you're out travelling Rose sometimes you've got to go for practical over pretty." The Ranger reasoned rocking back and forth on her feet, "I'm missing something, I don't know what." She thought out loud but the TARDIS beat her to it. A TARDIS blue leather jacket was thrown over to Midnight and she caught it in her hand and slipped it on. The TARDIS gave a hum approval like a mother would do for a child, "Thanks, love. You're always a great help."

"The TARDIS can do that?" Rose questioned in wonder.

"Yeah… you've never seen her do something like that before?" The Ranger inquired curiously with a slight frown and Rose shook her head, "Well, I suppose it that she knows me better than you."

"How did you meet the Doctor?" Rose inquired, out of the blue. The Time Lady noted her new friend's eagerness to learn about the Doctor, and understood. The Doctor was at terrible talking about himself.

"Has the Doctor told you that he 'borrowed' the TARDIS?" The Ranger asked and Rose nodded with a smile, "Well, it was my TARDIS that he stole. Or rather my family's, so I chased after him to rescue her; however, I ended up travelling with him instead. Actually, we _first_ met at the academy but, that's another story entirely." Midnight smiled fondly at the memory, she quickly shook herself out of it, "Anyway, enough about me! What about you? The mysterious Rose."

"I'm not mysterious." Rose stated with a laugh as the pair of them walked out of the wardrobe and into the hall.

"Well, maybe not but I'd still like to get to know you. This way, we can go to my room, the Doctor won't dare go in there." The Ranger explained grabbing Rose's hand as the pair ran down a series of corridors and passageways before finally stopping at a silver door covered in Gallifreyan writing.

The two of them walked in and the TARDIS turned the lights to reveal a large room, filled with warm colours. It reminded Rose a lot of a 19th century bedroom with the furniture and the wall paper. However, the ceiling was covered with stars, suns, nebulas and clock faces funnily enough. The floor had dark wooden planks with rugs placed here and there. The furniture consisted of a large four poster bed with midnight blue bedding, a desk, a grandfather clock and several chairs, tables and sofas dotted around the place with papers, books and components for devices on the tables; as well as a grand piano, violin, and an easel in the far corner of the room.

"Woah…" Rose muttered as Midnight jumped up onto the bed patting a back next to her for Rose to join her.

"Impressive isn't it? The TARDIS created it for me and it seems that she's kept it dust free too. Thanks old girl." The Ranger explained as Rose sat beside the cross-legged Time Lady, "Now come on. Let's hear a bit about you, I want to know _everything_."

"Erm, my surname's Tyler," Rose began laughing at the Time Lady's impatience to know about her new companion, "I'm 19, and I met the Doctor in 2005, but he messed up the landing when we went back to talk to my Mum and ended up in 2006. Why do you want to know all of this? It's not like I'm special."

"Not special?" Midnight retorted with a laugh, "Rose, the Doctor doesn't just choose anyone to travel with him. He ways chooses his companions with care. As for me, we're going to be travelling together for a while and I want to know about you." Rose took a moment to process this information looking at the Time Lady's sincerity that she was genuinely interested in knowing more about her, so that's how it went. Midnight asked Rose a question and she answered it. And sometimes Rose would ask a question about Midnight or the Doctor and the Ranger would happily answer.

It was nice for Rose to have someone to talk to, sure she knew that she could talk to the Doctor but sometimes he could be too arrogant or oblivious, or he was a part of the problem. With Midnight it was different she felt as though she could pour out her soul to the woman, all of her worries and ambitions, and the Time Lady would just sit there listening intently. Comforting the girl where it was needed or joking about to make her laugh.

The only thing about the Ranger that bothered Rose was the fact that she, much like the Doctor, refrained from showing how she truly felt as she just bottled it all up.

That was something that Rose was determined to change.

"What're ya doin'?" She shouted to the Doctor who had opened up a panel from the floor and was tinkering about with the wires and circuitry. The Doctor looked up at her, hitting his head on the console in the process.

"You, um, look nice." The Doctor muttered stunned then quickly shook himself out of it and Midnight's brows furrowed a bit, but she quickly brushed it off, "Just a bit of maintenance, you took a while getting changed. You and Rose have been gone for hours."

"Well, we got caught up talking. She's gone to bed so I thought I'd come here and pester you." The Ranger explained jumping up onto one of the chairs by the console.

"The TARDIS forced you to come here didn't she?"

"Maybe…" She trailed the pair of them laughing as the Doctor stood up and replaced the panel. The Ranger took a moment to properly have a look around the new console room, "She is _filthy_. What have you done to her? Don't worry, love I won't leave you alone with the mean old man, again…"

Towards the end of her statement Midnight stroked the TARDIS as the Doctor scoffed in indignation. But he then let her words sink in, " _So_ , you're staying?"

"Well, clearly you can't function properly without me." That earned her another scoff from the Doctor, "And Rose has already had to suffer your ego for far too long, the poor unsuspecting girl…"

At that the Doctor had to laugh, "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." She stated with a small smile as they stared into each other's eyes and took in the moment before the Doctor interrupted.

"Well, at least now we can have a talk," He began leaning against the console looking directly at the Time Lady, a solemn expression on his face, "How?"

"After you left me, thanks for that by the way," Midnight began explaining as the Doctor bowed his head a bit in regret; in his defence it was for her own safety, "And I don't know. Something must have malfunctioned allowing me to escape the time lock. The next thing I know is that my TARDIS was falling, crashing down to 17th century Earth. I barely made it out alive… but the TARDIS didn't survive." A heavy silence filled the air as Midnight glazed off into the floor avoiding his gaze, "It took me a while to find a version of you that lined up with my timeline. You're surprisingly easy to find, don't know why everyone keeps on complaining."

"I thought you had died." The Doctor stated grimly looking down at the floor to avoid her gaze. She stood up and stroked his cheek with her thumb calming him.

"Hey, I'm here now." She whispered to him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She returned to embrace; it was what he needed in that moment.

"I killed them. I killed them all." The Doctor whispered brokenly pulling her closer into him needing reassure himself that she was there and alive.

"I know, I know. Sshhh, it's alright. There was no other way; I should have been there with you." She spoke softly and gently, never having seen the Doctor like this before. She rubbed his back affectionately and whispered comforting words into his ear.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Don't apologise, you needed to let it out. You can't be a cyberman forever." She told him jokingly but as he saw the meaning underneath.

"Anyway, can you help me with this thing?" The Doctor quickly changed the subject needing to distract his mind from… this.

"What did you do without me?" She replied and the Time Lords laughed lightly before going to work on the TARDIS just like they had before their universe was tipped upside down and into chaos.


End file.
